Review: Demi - Femme Fatale

Femme Fatale is a recently released EP showcasing the musical talents of electronica styled artist Demi. It is evident that this music is heavily inspired by modern pop, but also takes hints of the indie rock scene both in lyrical themes and musical composition. My personal musical background is submerged in an eclectic range of music, so my review will attempt to be heavily objective as opposed to strictly subjective. With that said, let me begin my review:

SOUND:

On the surface, Demi's work may appear too easy to get into, as it is very poppy in terms of composition. As earlier stated, they are heavily influenced by electronica/pop and it is very noticeable that this project is also drawing a lot of influence from indie rock and even some alternative rock sources. One of my favorite tracks from this album is titled "Complete Elation", as it seemingly visits vocal styles and riffs reminiscent of more mainstream bands such as Coheed and Cambria, and even some tracks sound like a sort of throwback to Claudio Sanchez's old compositions with his former band Shabutie. On quite a few occasions, the synth riffs, vocal stylings, and beats remind me heavily of 70s and 80s styled synth pop music. Due to the increase in popularity in Michael Jackson's music given his untimely death, the renewed style of synth based in his vein music can be heavily seen in this music. In this album, synths are exploited, but they frequently fall into the background of the mixes; making them a welcomed touch instead of an overwhelming sound source. Distortion guitar riffs occasionally lace this set of tracks, which add to the feeling of this music being more "extreme", and it falls very much in line with the aforementioned indie rock stylings in tonality.

Some standout tracks include "Falling", "Complete Elation", and "Shadow Dancer" (featuring the vocals of Di Santo).

LYRICS AND SINGING:

The lyrics seem to be relatively standard fair given this style of music, though for the most part they do not seem to detract from the club style/indie rock atmosphere which is heavily conveyed in this music. The singing style is something rather unique, but not bad by any stretch of the imagination. Demi's voice takes some getting used too, but it fits perfectly with music. There are occasionally clashes of dissonant vocal notes, which may turn some listeners off, though it only seems to add a punk rock sort of vibe to the music which inadvertently makes it feel more "aggressive." Her voice took some getting used to for me, but this follows suit with many other vocalists whom I have grown to thoroughly enjoy. I primarily think of Claudio Sanchez from Coheed and Cambria (one of my favorite bands). His voice took quite a while to get used to, but now I absolutely love it.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

Demi's music is not usually something I would find myself listening too. However, with that said she seems to make music that stands out amidst a swollen genre filled with generic, copy-cat acts. As a musician and composer, there are moments where the tried and true pop formula (ABABCB song structure) can bore me; but for the general populace who tends to like that structure, I think it can be a really good thing. As said earlier, there are a lot of reasons to like Demi's music; and I expect with some more advanced composition skills her future releases can really move forward to a point where they can really stand out from the crowd.

For listeners who are not very into these genres, this album may not have a far reaching appeal. With that said, I recommend this album pretty highly for those who are into synth pop and indie rock stylings. There is something to be said for "underground" artist in this genre, as they are not nearly as confined to some structure like big name acts like Lady Gaga.